(The following story by Elizabeth Crisp appeared on the Clarion Ledger website on April 2, 2009.)
JACKSON, Miss. — Authorities say there are no severe injuries after a southbound Amtrak train partially derailed near Osyka in Pike County this afternoon.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said severe thunderstorms in the area caused a tree to fall on the tracks.
The engineer, who complained of back discomfort, was the only person on board to seek medical attention, he said.
The nearly 80 passengers on board were not harmed, said Carlene Statham, assistant director of Pike County Civil Defense.
Magliari said the engine was the only car to leave the tracks.
Amtrak is in the process of sending motor coaches to get them to their Louisiana destinations.
Amtrak’s City of New Orleans is a service line operating two trains daily — one northbound and one southbound — between Chicago and New Orleans.
The derailment could delay the arrival of the northbound train this evening, Magliari said.
Today’s derailment comes less than a year after three more severe accidents along the same line.
In June, an Amtrak train struck a car in McComb, injuring the driver, and went on to hit another car 40 miles away in Independence, La., killing two people.
Two week’s before the train partially derailed in rural Copiah County after colliding with a garbage truck. Nearly 100 passengers were evacuated from the train. Twenty-five people were hospitalized, including two from the garbage truck.